You can also keep up with Jonathan on his own blog @http://jonathanwaud.blogspot.com/ and on Twitter @jonathanwaud.

A gallery of my favorite shots of Jonathan are shown below including the one to the right which makes me want that sweater… his stare is mesmerizing!!! *swoon*

And now we’ve got… http://www.obamasplanforgayrights.com/ … where’s that “Fierce Advocate” we were promised? :-\

With veto override, domestic partners bill becomes law
Nevada becomes 17th state to recognize gay relationships
By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun
Sun, May 31, 2009 (8:02 p.m.)

CARSON CITY – In what supporters are calling a historic moment, the Assembly on Sunday night overrode the veto of Gov. Jim Gibbons on a bill giving legal rights to domestic partners.

Tod Story, a member of the board of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, said “Nevadans can stand proud.”

Story said Nevada has become the 17th state to recognize the relationships of gay and lesbian couples under state law.

The law takes effect Oct. 1.

The vote Sunday night was 28-14, the bare minimum needed to overturn the decision of the governor. It follows the 14-7 vote in the Senate Saturday and puts the bill into law.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU in Nevada, said “this is a proud day in Nevada’s history. With its override, our Legislature has put our state on the right side of a growing movement to honor this country’s promise that every one of us is entitled to equal treatment under the law.”

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, who gave the only speech on the floor, called this a “historic vote for equality and justice.”

“This is the most important civil rights legislation we’ve had in all my years here and I am so happy and honored to be a part of it.”

She said she knew it was “a struggle” for many legislators.

She said domestic partners “are not asking us to approve of their lives or how they live but they are asking us for respect. As citizens of this great state, they are asking that their government give them the ability to choose who they will live with and who they will love.”

Senate Bill 283 provides domestic partners the same rights in such things as community property responsibility for debt to third parties and the right to seek financial support if they split up.

The bill specifically states that a domestic partnership is not a marriage as outlined in the 2002 constitutional amendment that says a marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

The partners, whether of the same or opposite sex, would register with the Secretary of State’s Office for legal recognition. And if they split, they would file dissolution of the registration.

The bill says domestic partners have the same rights, protections and benefits that are ranged or imposed upon spouses.

The governor, in his veto message, said the voters in 2002 felt “the right of marriage should apply only to married couples, only the voters should determine whether those rights should equally apply to domestic partners.”

Voters approved that amendment 337,197 to 164,573.

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, the openly gay sponsor of SB283, said it’s “about fairness and equality,” and that it doesn’t diminish the sanctity of marriage.

Voting against the bill on Sunday were Republicans John Carpenter of Elko, Chad Christensen of Las Vegas, Tyrus Cobb of Reno, Heidi Gansert of Reno, Pete Goicoechea of Eureka, Tom Grady of Yerington, Don Gustavson of Sparks, John Hambrick of Las Vegas, Joe Hardy of Boulder City, Richard McArthur of Las Vegas, James Settelmeyer of Gardnerville, Lynn Stewart and Melissa Woodbury, both of Henderson.

One Democrat, Mo Denis of Las Vegas, voted to sustain the governor’s veto. Edwin Goedhart, a Republican from Amargosa Valley voted for the override.

Senate overrides governor’s veto of domestic partners bill
Measure to give domestic partners same or equal rights as married couples
By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun
Sat, May 30, 2009 (8:12 p.m.)

CARSON CITY – The Senate has overridden the veto of Gov. Jim Gibbons on the controversial bill to provide certain legal rights to domestic partners.

The vote was 14-7 and the bill goes to the Assembly. Fourteen votes were needed for the two-thirds majority to override the veto of the governor.

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, said this bill is about “equality and fairness.” This allows domestic partners, either of the same or opposite sex, the same rights and duties as marriage couples.

Opponents say these domestic partners can get the same rights by signing contracts. But Parks said getting legal contracts is cumbersome and cost prohibitive. “There is no guarantee they will stand up.”

Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, who voted against the bill the first time it appeared in the Senate, changed his vote. And he said he received many calls that were “ugly, vulgar and threatening messages” from people who oppose the bill.

“Senate Bill 283 does not alter or redefine marriage,” Nolan said.

But Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, said this bill “is a slap in the face” of the people who voted for a constitutional amendment in 2002 that recognized marriage as only between a man and a woman.

Washington said he has been called a “religious zealot” but added “I am not here to inflict my religious view on you.”

Voters in 2002 gave final approval to a constitutional amendment 237,197 to 164,573 that marriage should be only between a man and a woman.

Backers of Senate Bill 283 maintain this is about giving domestic partners some of the same rights as enjoyed by those married.

The bill passed the Senate the first time 12-9. Nolan and Dean Rhoads, R-Elko, changed their vote to support the measure. After the vote, Rhoads said he had a lot of e-mails in heterosexual couples interested in domestic relation partnership.

He said the casinos supporting the bill influenced him as well. “Their message made sense. It is not marriage. It is a domestic partnership.”

Voting to uphold the governor’s veto were Republican Mark Amodei of Carson City, Barbara Cegavske of Las Vegas, Warren Hardy, also of Las Vegas, Bill Raggio of Reno and Washington. The two Democrats who also supported the governor were John Lee of North Las Vegas and Terry Care of Las Vegas.

The bill was approved 26-14 in the Assembly the first time. Supporters need two additional votes to get the two-thirds majority.

The bill provides such rights as community property, responsibilities for debts and the right to seek alimony in a split up between couples of the same sex or couples of opposite sex who are not married.

Parks, a gay, said he has received 1,500 e-mails. And a survey by the Legislature, 79 percent of those questioned favored the bill while 21 percent was opposed.

The bill, Parks said would establish a domestic partner registry in the Secretary of State’s Office where couples, either of the same or opposite gender, register their relationship through the state.

This bill does “not threaten the sanity of marriage,” said Parks. “SB283 does not circumvent the will of the people because Question 2 made no mention of partnerships or of denying people’s rights and privileges if they are in committed relationships.”

The Senate also voted 21-0 to override the veto of Gibbons on Senate Bill 234 that allowed car rental agencies to charge a small extra charge a day. At present the agencies collect a 10 percent tax of which six percent goes to the state and the rental agencies keep the remaining four percent.

The state is taking the four percent but allowed the agencies to charge to cover their costs. A spokesman for the rental car agencies said it would amount to about $1.25 a day extra.

The Senate also voted 21-0 to override the veto of the governor on Senate Bill 415 that sets the contribution rate the state contributes towards the health insurance cost for its employees and retirees.

The subsidy rate for employees next year will be $626 per month and then it rises to $680 in fiscal 2011. Gibbons wants to reduce the subsidy to $549 next fiscal year and $596 the following year for workers.

The present subsidy is $626 a month.

The bill also set the contribution rate for state retirees at $317 per month next fiscal year and then to $344 in 2011. Gibbons sought to set it at $383 and then drop it to $307 in 2011.

The present subsidy rate for retirees is $410.